New Moon
by Aura Shiarr
Summary: Meet the Stellar Knight. Fifteen year old Starfire Trenee is starting a new school, but why are mysterious events occurring? How could this be connected to her late mother? Does Starfire even know her true identity?
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here it is, my very first published fanfiction. I hope you enjoy. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sailor Moon universe or original characters. I do own Starfire and the other characters in my story. Thanks to http/home.planet.nl/mbedaff/romdict.htm for some name and word ideas.

New Moon 

By Aura Shiarr

As the cab drove away, Starfire Trenée stared at the massive gate before her with some apprehension. Hefting her single suitcase, she stepped forward and pushed the intercom button. The speaker buzzed, and shortly thereafter a high-pitched female voice emerged. "Welcome to the London International Academy. How may I help you?"

Starfire leaned forward and held down the com button. "Hello? My name is Starfire Trenée…I'm a new student."

"Ah, yes. The headmistress is expecting you, Miss Trenée. I'll buzz you in." The intercom emitted a loud tone and the great iron-wrought gates swung slowly open. Star paused to collect herself, tightened her grip on the suitcase, and stepped forward onto school grounds.

Almost two centuries ago, Lady Mona Nelson had died heirless and made provision in her will for a school to be built using her considerable fortune and the grounds of her mansion on the outskirts of London. It was to be a school primarily for the children of the diplomatic community.

Lady Nelson's father had served as the British ambassador to Portugal, and she had spent her childhood feeling lonely, bouncing from boarding school to boarding school. She wanted to create a place where children like her could have a sense of home. The school was also to accept a certain number of local scholarship students.

And so, in September of 1807, the London International Academy opened its gates to a charter class of fifty-three students. Now, as Starfire entered those same gates, with the addition of three classroom wings and two separate dormitory buildings, the Academy supported up to five hundred resident students.

Amaris Weir set the stack of papers to the side of her desk and stretched backward, massaging her neck with one hand. As much as she enjoyed her job at the Academy, her least favorite part was reviewing the finances. There came a tapping at her door. "Yes?"

Amaris' secretary, Julia, poked her head in the door. "There's a new student here to see you, Headmistress."

Amaris sat up straight and smiled. "Ah. Very good. Send her in then." The teenage girl who entered the office was slightly taller than average, fine of feature, and built like a dancer. Her silvery grey eyes glinted in the sunlight. She stood perfectly still except for her left hand, which fiddled with the end of her waist-length raven braid. She took in the office, with its dark wood furnishings and built-in bookshelves full to bursting. She then turned her attention to the woman occupying the space.

Amaris Weir was a shorter woman in her mid-thirties. Her shining brown hair was pulled back in a neat twist, and her dark eyes were framed by stylish glasses. She smiled as Starfire came in, and gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk. "Please, sit down. My name is Amaris Weir. Welcome." Star moved forward and sat down on the edge of the chair, her back straight. She smiled hesitantly in return. Amaris rummaged around in a desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder. "Ah. Here it is…Trenée, Starfire; lately of Saint Parasceva's School for Girls. An excellent student, I see…martial arts club, gymnastics…Oh, yes. I was curious about this. Your medical records say something about…amnesia?"

Star looked down at her hands. "Yes. When I was twelve. There was a gas explosion in my home. My parents…didn't make it. The police found me wandering the street, dazed and remembering nothing but my name. I still don't remember anything of my life before that day."

Amaris sat stunned for a moment. She couldn't say a thing, so she went back to examining the file. "It says here that your mother, Arianna, attended the Academy for her entire school career. We've taken the liberty of giving you her old room."

"You have?" Star brightened. "Thank you."

"Of course. Now, I should explain a few things. You are the first student to arrive this year, due to your special circumstances. The others will be arriving over the next few days. Also, since you are fifteen years of age, you are free to leave the campus any time between breakfast and dinnertime, so long as you inform the door warden where you are going. Provided, of course, that you are not supposed to be in class. Now, Julia will take you to Mrs. Connors. She is in charge of the girls' dormitory building. She'll explain everything about living here. I hope you'll enjoy your time here at the academy." She raised her voice and called, "Julia!"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Would you please escort Miss Trenée to the dormitory and introduce her to Mrs. Connors?"

"Certainly. If you would follow me?" Julia turned and left the office. Star rose and followed, pausing just outside the door to pick up her suitcase.

Starfire tossed her suitcase into the corner and collapsed onto the bed. She had spent the last hour in Mrs. Connors' office, having the dormitory rules explained to her in extreme detail. Now, finally, she had been shown to her room. The room, 550, was located at the very end of the hall on the fifth floor of five, near the common bathroom. Behind a heavy wooden door, the room contained a twin bed, a dresser with an attached mirror, a desk and chair, and a tiny closet that was mostly filled with the uniforms she had ordered before coming. There was very little excess space. The large window looked out over the kitchen garden.

Star just lay down for a moment and studied the ceiling. _Ugh…I should unpack,_ she thought, _I certainly won't feel like doing it later._ She reluctantly rose and picked up her suitcase. Setting it atop the dresser, she took out her sheets and blanket, and quickly made the bed.

Then, from her suitcase she pulled a small wooden box inlaid with multi-coloured starbursts. It was Star's prized possession, the only object to survive intact the explosion of her childhood home. She had never been able to open it though. No matter how she tried, the lid refused to budge. She took it out carefully and placed it reverently on her desk.

Next, it was time to put away the clothing she had brought with her. She hung up her two formal dresses in the closet, and then pulled open the top drawer of the dresser. Or rather, she tried to. The drawer stuck halfway open. She tugged on it experimentally. It wouldn't move. She pulled harder. No luck. She tried again, but it wouldn't open, nor would it the next several times she tried. Frustrated, she yanked on the recalcitrant drawer with her full strength and weight. And barely managed to leap backwards in time to save her toes as the drawer crashed to the floor. She sighed and picked it up.

As she attempted to put the drawer back in, she noticed that a section of the wood on the rear corner had partially broken off. "Oh, no…" she groaned. _I haven't broken something already…_ She sat down on the bed and attempted to push the piece of wood back into place. It wouldn't cooperate. As she shifted the drawer around to get a better look, the light glinted off something behind the broken piece of wood. She ceased her efforts to push it back, and instead pried it outward. Behind that thin layer of wood lay a tiny cavity, which was occupied by a slip of paper and a ring. She pulled them both out and unrolled the paper. Written in a flowing script were the words,

For my daughter, with love.

The drawer fell to the floor, forgotten. Star's hands shook as she read and reread the tiny piece of paper. _Could it be…? My mother!_ She turned her attention to the ring. It was a heavy silver signet-style ring, but in place of a seal, a garnet starburst was set in the flattened top. She turned it over on her palm. There were words in odd antique lettering engraved inside the band.

Shiarrhian ir-Aidoann tr'Ainae

Her lips moved silently, trying to sound out the strange words. She shrugged and turned the ring back over. After a moment of hesitation, she pocketed the piece of paper and slipped the ring onto her left index finger, where it fit perfectly. "Well, this was my mother's room," she told herself, "But how could she have known she'd have a daughter?" Star retrieved and repaired the drawer, and seeing nothing else to do she continued unpacking, still troubled.


	2. Chapter 2: Discovery

Author's Note: Well, here's Chapter Two, in which Starfire learns more about the ring, her mother, and herself. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own the Sailor Moon universe or original characters. I do own Starfire and the other characters in my story. Thanks to http/home.planet.nl/mbedaff/romdict.htm for some name and word ideas.

New Moon Chapter Two: Discovery By Aura Shiarr

Star looked over her room with satisfaction. Her clothes were put away neatly, her brand new schoolbooks placed on the shelf above her desk, her burgundy bedspread neatly tucked in, and the matching curtain hung. It was time to get some lunch. The cafeteria would not be open until the next day when the other students started to arrive, so she grabbed her wallet and headed for the gates. She'd heard that the café down the street was fairly decent. She stopped by the door warden's office to sign herself out for the afternoon, and then exited by the inconspicuous door to the side of the main gate.

_Now which way was that café?_ She looked around a bit before spotting the sign, down the road and to the right. She started walking.

The café turned out to be home to both a friendly proprietor and an excellent turkey sandwich. Treating herself to a take-out cappuccino, Star decided to explore the surrounding commercial area. As she walked, she pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket and toyed with it absent-mindedly as she lost herself in thought.

A sudden scream knocked her from her reverie. She located its source almost immediately; some…thing was attacking the people near a flower stand. It seemed to be as much plant as human. The cappuccino hit the pavement, ignored, as Star instinctively ran toward the…creature. She approached it from the rear, and when she came within range, she launched a powerful kick to the back of its neck, knocking it over.

"Leave then alone!" she yelled.

The creature picked itself up and turned to face the girl. It laughed. "I think not, little girl. I'll think I'll just take you too." As it lashed out at her, its arm extended to an impossible length, vine-like, and wrapped around her waist. It slammed her into the brick storefront; once, twice, then let her fall. "I'll deal with you later," it growled, and turned back to its original victims.

Star lay unmoving on the pavement as she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes with great difficulty, and focused on the bit of concrete in front of her nose. A small piece of paper fluttered down to rest before her. Her eyes scanned the now familiar words. "To…my daughter," she whispered. A slight breeze caught the paper and turned it over. She squinted to read the newly revealed words. "Stellar…Transformation…"

A feeling of warmth radiated from the ring on her left hand. She felt herself being lifted gently into the air. A scintillating silver light surrounded her, and as it disappeared she found herself standing with her head bowed and her arms crossed over her chest. She slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. And nearly fell over from shock.

Her t-shirt and jeans had been replaced by a close-fitting white ballet-neck shirt and white pants. Burgundy boots encased her feet, and a pair of burgundy belts crossed at her waist. Light reflected from the garnet pommel-stones of the black-hilted daggers sheathed on each belt and in the tops of the boots. She stumbled backward into something hard and turned around quickly, meeting her reflection in a shop window. She touched her face in disbelief. Her hair had become a brilliant silver, and her eyes metallic gold. Most shocking of all were the great feathered white wings sprouting from her shoulders and just barely brushing the ground. A scream from behind snapped her back into the present. She turned about rapidly, and promptly tripped on a wingtip.

Star picked herself up and lifted her wings carefully out of the way. She ran back toward the creature. She felt a sudden urge to speak. So she did. "You corrupt the beauty of these flowers. I am the Stellar Knight, and I will protect these innocents!"

The creature tossed aside its current victim, who seemed to have been completely drained of energy. "Ah. Somebody else wants to play. This day keeps getting better!" It lashed out with a vine-arm.

Star dropped and rolled towards it, unsheathing the daggers at her waist. She came up standing and slashed at its extended arm, which fell to the ground, sheared off by the keen blade. The creature shrieked and attacked with its other arm. Star blocked the strike with one blade and plunged the other into its heart. The dagger gave off a burst of brilliant light, and the creature cries out once more as it collapsed into a pile of dust.

She stood for a moment, frozen in shock. The creature's victims around her began to recover their energy. One man lifted his head, saw her, and asked dazedly, "Are you an angel?"

Star recovered, sheathing her blades. She turned and regarded him seriously. "I really don't know."

More of the people were waking up now, and some were attempting to stand. _I had better get out of here. But how?_ Star thought. _Hello! Wings. I guess it's time to see if these things really work…_ She climbed up onto the floral stand, closed her eyes, and jumped.

Cracking one eye open, Star realized that she was gliding. She opened both her eyes and beat her wings experimentally, gaining altitude. She smiled, feeling the wind increase as she flew higher. She flew up until she judged that she couldn't be seen, then flew the short distance back to the Academy, making a slightly rough landing on the roof of her dormitory. Making sure there was no one in the kitchen garden, she lowered herself onto her own window ledge. Thankful for the fact that no one had ever bothered to install latches on the fifth floor windows, she pushed the window open and slipped inside. After closing the window behind herself, she just stood for several moments as the recent events sank in.

She sat down heavily on her desk chair, careful to avoid hitting her wings. Her wings…_Flying and helping people are wonderful,_ she thought, leaning her head against one hand. _But how the heck do I change back? Oh, mother, if it really was you who sent me this ring, I wish you could tell me what to do now._ She reached out to her left and ran her hand across the top of her wooden box, the sole link she had to her mother. To her extreme shock, the box slowly came open. Inside was a letter.

"My Dearest Child,

If you are reading this, then you have just discovered your powers and I am not there to help you. I am sorry. And I want you to know that I am very proud of you for finding your destiny on your own.

Inside this box are five gifts for five very unique people, the Lunar Sailor Scouts. These gifts will awaken their own special powers. It is your job as the Stellar Knight to locate, guide, and protect the Lunar Scouts.

Start with the leftmost compartment. You will know the right person for each gift when the time comes. You can do this. I believe in you.

Love,

Arianna Trenée, Your Mother

PS: You're probably wondering how to get back to normal. Just close your eyes, concentrate, and wish to change back."

Starfire looked up from the letter with tears in her eyes. _Mother…_ She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was back in her street clothes with her coloring returned to normal. She reached over her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief when she did not encounter wings. That accomplished, she sat up straighter and peered into the box. There were five separate compartments inside. Following her mother's advice, she lifted the lid of the leftmost and removed the object within.

It was a round silver pendant, edged and quartered with gold. In the center a garnet crescent was set in a raised silver circle. In each quarter of the pendant was a differently colored and shaped gem; a dark citrine flame, a pale aquamarine water drop, a stylized puff of air in smoky quartz, and an oak leaf in dark peridot. The pendant itself was suspended on two fine chains; one gold, one silver.

Star gazed at the pendant for a long moment before pocketing it. She returned her mother's letter to the box and closed it. She looked down at her ring and her hand unconsciously formed a fist. "I'll find them," she vowed. "I promise you, Mother."


End file.
